YOUNGSTOWN — Mayor Jamael Tito Brown said he did not consider firing Jeff Limbian as Youngstown law director before his resignation.

“None of that was discussed,” Brown said Wednesday, a day after Limbian submitted his resignation letter, effective immediately.

Asked about the strained relationship he had with Limbian, who used to be a close friend and adviser, Brown said, “I don’t talk about personnel issues with anybody.”

Brown said of Limbian’s resignation: “When you have employees, they come and go. I’ve enjoyed the time we worked together. I wish him well.”

Limbian was the first person Brown hired when he took office as mayor in January 2018. The two had a longtime close friendship well before the November 2017 election that saw Brown win his first four-year term as mayor. That relationship devolved in the past two years.

Regarding his resignation, Limbian said Tuesday: “It was time to move on. I have enjoyed my time there. I was honored to work for the mayor and with the department heads and staff.”

Limbian also didn’t discuss his relationship with Brown.

Brown said he is “never surprised in life,” so Limbian’s resignation didn’t catch him off guard.

“Things are so fluid,” he said.

Asked if he had concerns with how the law department operated under Limbian, Brown said, “Again, I don’t talk about personnel issues. All departments have room to grow.”

Limbian, whose annual salary was $87,769, had expressed concerns about the pay given to lawyers working in the law department.

The department has been short-staffed for quite some time with three attorneys in the office and one lawyer who splits between the law department and the city prosecutor’s office.

Brown said of the staffing issue: “That doesn’t help, but those there can hold their own. We’ll strategize on what we’re doing. We have capable people there.”

Lou D’Apolito, an assistant law director and former Mahoning County Common Pleas Court judge, was named interim law director Wednesday.

“The administration asked me to do it and I agreed,” he said. “I want to help the city. Hopefully, it won’t be for long.”

D’Apolito said he has no interest in the permanent appointment.

Brown said the city will conduct a search for a permanent law director with internal and external candidates at some point.

“I don’t have a crystal ball,” he said. “It’s hard to say when, but we’ll look for the best and the brightest.”

Brown typically has taken several months or longer to hire department heads and other top administration officials. But there is talk among city hall insiders that Brown has a candidate in mind.

In an extreme example, Brown had Kyle Miasek serve as interim finance director for more than three years before naming him in March 2021 to the job.

The finance director, law director and mayor serve on the city’s board of control.

While Limbian spent nearly six years as law director — the longest anyone has served in that position for at least the past 25 years — he’s also sought to move on from the job.

He unsuccessfully ran in 2019 for a Youngstown Municipal Court judicial position and also lost the Nov. 7 election for city clerk of courts.

City council members frequently criticized Limbian for not representing them properly and for issues with legislation, which is written by the law department.

Brown suspended Limbian for nearly three weeks in late 2021 after Limbian made comments about city Clerk Valencia Marrow. When Limbian returned, he agreed with Brown to resign as city prosecutor to concentrate on the duties of law director.

But there were differences between the two over the direction of the law department that weren’t resolved.